Influencers increasingly replace quantified stats with qualitative testimonials

Evidence

However, many Influencers have also been observed to be intentionally mystifying their impact, shunning quantifiable data for qualitative anecdotes. Alongside Influencers removing quantified stats from their profiles, I have observed several Influencers posting screengrabs of conversations or feedback with their clients and managers. Some of these are as informal as WhatsApp text messages or direct messages on various platforms, while others are verbatim testimonials on reports churned out by Influencer management companies, personal praise, and fan letters from satisfied followers. We now seem to be reiterating “networked narratives” and “word-of-mouth” selling, which were the primary modes of verification and validation in the earliest days of Influencer commerce. Perhaps as the industry has saturated and professionalized so quickly since it first began in the early 2000s, some Influencers are beginning to opt out of quantitative data cultures and are reverting to yardsticks such as the informal testimonials that garnered them internet fame in the first place. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 285

Categorization

• XREF: Strong echo of the ‘networked narratives’ and word-of-mouth reputation economies described in the law-merchant and social-capital trade readings. — connects to: Influencers manually screenshot ephemeral metrics to prove engagement — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 283; Klout algorithmically quantified social media influence and status. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 252
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does the regression to qualitative impact signal market maturation, or is it a self-presentation strategy to escape scrutiny of gamed metrics?

Broader Connections

• Influencers manually screenshot ephemeral metrics to prove engagement #complicates (0.80) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 283
• Klout algorithmically quantified social media influence and status. #qualifies (0.70) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 252